Last updated on December 25, 2025
Executive Summary
As of 2025, ASEAN’s three major renewable energy (RE) contenders—Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia—are entering a critical phase: moving from headline targets to execution, especially in grid build-out, storage deployment, and offtake contracts.
Based on the latest official reports, Indonesia and Vietnam have ambitious capacity addition plans; Malaysia is steadily climbing but needs to accelerate flexibility measures.
The 2025-2035 window will be defining: who delivers on RE build, who enables the system to absorb it cleanly, and who offers the most stable investment environment.
Latest Data & Forecasts (2025-Onwards)
Below are updated figures from recent reports, showing both current baselines and multi-year plans out to 2030-2035 where possible.
Malaysia
- MyRER (Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap) sets a target of 31% installed power capacity from renewables by 2025, with longer-term goals of 40% by 2035 and 70% by 2050.
- Forecasts from GlobalData: renewable power generation in Malaysia rose from ~5 TWh in 2020 to ~9.8 TWh in 2024. Expected to reach ~51.1 TWh by 2035 (CAGR ~16.2% from 2024-35).
- For capacity: reports suggest Malaysia’s cumulative renewable capacity will reach ~30 GW by 2035.
- Grid flexibility and storage: in Peninsular Malaysia, MyRER’s analysis forecasts a need for ~5.7 GWh of energy storage by 2035 to support ~30% solar share. Also, plans to develop ~100 MW per year of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) from 2030-34, leading to ~500 MW in that period.
Vietnam
- According to the “Achieving a Net Zero Electricity Sector in Viet Nam” (IEA) and the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8): electricity demand is projected to double by 2030, and rise about five-fold to nearly 1,200 TWh by 2050 under the PDP8 scenario.
- PDP8 targets (as per reports):
• Offshore wind capacity of ~15,000 MW (15 GW) by 2035, and ~240,000 MW (240 GW) by 2050.
• Solar energy potential estimated at ~963,000 MW (incl. ground, water surface, rooftop) in total technical potential.
Indonesia
- Under RUPTL 2025-2034 (the state utility PLN’s roadmap) the plan is to add ~69.5 GW of new power generation capacity by 2034. Of that, ~76% (≈ 42.6 GW) will be from renewable sources: solar (~17.1 GW), hydro (~11.7 GW), wind (~7.2 GW), geothermal (~5.2 GW), bioenergy (~0.9 GW).
- Energy storage planned: 10.3 GW (pumped-storage and battery) over 2025-34.
- Phase breakdown:
• 2025-2029: of the new additions (~first half of RUPTL period), ~12.2 GW RE, ~12.7 GW fossil (coal+gas), ~3.0 GW storage.
• 2030-2034: much stronger tilt toward clean energy: ~30.4 GW RE, ~7.3 GW storage, ~3.9 GW fossil. - On energy mix goals: the draft RUPTL targets ~35% renewable energy share in the energy mix by 2034, aligning with national policy (RUKN etc.).
Comparative Analysis: Who Has the Edge, and Where the Risks Are
Here’s a side-by-side view of strengths, bottlenecks, and forecasted performance between 2025-2035.
| Country | Strengths / Advantages | Forecasted Highlights (2025-2035) | Key Risks / Bottlenecks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | Clear policy path (MyRER, NETR), strong resource base, rising corporate demand, emerging storage planning. | RE generation ~51.1 TWh by 2035; ~30 GW installed RE capacity; energy storage needs ~5.7 GWh by 2035. | Grid flexibility lag; permitting/tender delays; cost of storage; matching C&I demand pace with supply. |
| Vietnam | Very large technical potential (solar + wind), PDP8 providing demand forecasts, increasing DPPA / private sector engagement. | Off-shore wind target ~15 GW by 2035; demand doubling to 2030; total system demand ~1,200 TWh by 2050. | Transmission grid capacity; curtailment; regulatory clarity for offtake; securing financing for offshore wind; environmental/local constraints. |
| Indonesia | Huge untapped RE resource (solar, geothermal, hydro), clear RUPTL pipeline, rising storage build, regional spread across islands. | New capacity ~69.5 GW by 2034, of which ~42.6 GW renewables + ~10.3 GW storage; moving toward ~35% RE in mix by 2034. | Implementation speed; local content / regulatory hurdles; tariff / PPA bankability; balancing island grid stability; financing large transmission & storage. |
Forecasts & What to Watch (2025-2035)
Malaysia is likely to achieve ~35-40% RE in installed capacity by 2035 if current policy momentum continues, with storage deployment critical after 2030 to integrate high solar shares.
Vietnam may exceed its non-hydro RE targets if grid upgrades accelerate, especially in key provinces, and if offshore wind development picks up. There is a strong upside in the 2030-2035 window.
Indonesia has the greatest near-term capacity addition potential; the 2025-2029 period will set the tone. If RE + storage phases in smoothly, Indonesia could jump from ~12-15% RE share toward ~30-35% by 2034.
Investment Implications
For investors, the safe plays are in markets with policy clarity + contract security + offtake certainty. At the moment, Malaysia shows lower regulatory risk; Indonesia offers bigger upside but execution risks are higher; Vietnam’s potential is huge if grid + offtake issues are addressed.
Storage and transmission are the “hidden bet” — projects that incorporate them will likely out-perform in terms of returns and reliability.
Corporate demand (industrial clusters, data centres, manufacturing) will drive DPPA / off-grid / rooftop solar uptake especially in Vietnam and Malaysia.
By 2035, the leader in ASEAN’s RE race may not be the one with the highest capacity target, but the one that combines scale with system stability: building enough transmission, storage, and flexible contracts so that renewable generation doesn’t get wasted or delayed. With current trajectories:
- Indonesia could deliver the largest capacity additions,
- Vietnam might pull ahead in offshore wind and demand growth,
- Malaysia is best positioned to deliver stable, bankable projects with fewer surprises—but must plug the gaps in flexibility.
